ELK GROVE-
People picking up their mail in Elk Grove off Bruceville Road near Soaring Oaks Drive could only shake their heads in frustration.
Wednesday, three neighborhood mailboxes were broken into. Mail sent to dozens of homes was gone.
Two others were broken into earlier this week, about a mile a way.
Some boxes were pried open from the front. Others had the master doors in the back pried open, giving thieves access to all the individual boxes at once.
The most recent break in was frustrating for mail carrier Ellie Devera.
The thefts began just before Christmas.
“Just last Monday, two on my route were broken. Before that, it was more than ten, just one route,” Devera said.
Nitza Medina-Garcia and her husband noticed something was amiss with their mailbox this morning.
She can only speculate on what the their was after.
“Probably checks or the tax forms are being mailed out, so I.D. theft. I don’t know,” Medina-Garcia said.
No matter what the motive, the thief is apparently finding what he wants because he continues to steal mail. Even mail carriers aren’t immune.
“It’s so sad, even my own mail, they got in,” said Devera.
Until the boxes are fixed or replaced, residents must pick up their mail at the post office, where their mail will be held.
The United States Postal Service says they’ve indeed seen a recent increase in mail being stolen from “cluster boxes.” Report suspicious credit card activity and vandalism to (877) 876-2455.
The USPS is offering a $10,000 reward in this case.
